Utes still toast of the conference

Victoria Sun

Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

UTE FACTS

Coach: Rick Majerus

Coach's record at school: 238-64 (10 years)

Coach's overall record: 337-116 (15 years)

Returning starters: 4

Player to watch: Hanno Mottola

Player they'll miss: Andre Miller

Key newcomer: Trent Whiting

Marquee game: Against Kentucky, Friday

Media poll projection: 1st

Despite the fact that Utah point guard Andre Miller was the ninth pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in this year's NBA draft, don't expect any other coaches in the Mountain West Conference to celebrate.

In the last three years, Utah coach Rick Majerus has sent one player to the NBA starting with Keith Van Horn, followed by Michael Doleac and now Miller.

After Van Horn left, the team made it all the way to the NCAA championship game. Without Doleac last year, the Utes still made it to the second round of the big dance.

There's a simple reason why Utah hasn't struggled when its stars graduate -- Majerus is legendary for getting the best from of his players and making do with what he has.

His challenge to find a suitable replacement this year for Miller will be a big challenge.

"It's going to be a hard year for us," Majerus said. "I've not done a good job because we didn't have a point guard in waiting.

"Everyone and my staff seem to remember Andre's last year and a half, but we forgot about his freshman and sophomore years."

Because of it, the Utes will clearly be at a disadvantage in the backcourt until Majerus can mold either Tony Harvey, Gary Colbert or Trent Whiting into a reliable ball handler.

Based on Majerus' penchant for teaching the game, it shouldn't take too long before one of them steps up.

Provided Majerus shores up the backcourt, the front line of Hanno Mottola, Alex Jensen and Nate Althoff will be tough to beat, although Mottola will be sidelined up to six weeks with a tear in his left knee incurred during a Nov. 9 exhibition game.

The big Finn is the team's leading returning scorer and a preseason Player of the Year candidate in the MWC as well as a Wooden and Naismith Award nominee.

The defensive-minded Jensen averaged 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game while Althoff is expected to improve upon his statistics (4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds a game.)

The Utes outrebounded opponents by a margin of nine a game last season when they finished 28-5 and held foes to just 55.4 points a game. With the players Majerus has returning, those numbers will probably be matched this season.

"We're in probably the best condition we've been in a long time," Majerus said. "We've got a great strength coach and looked strong in the preseason."